A New Battle Begins: Shinigami in America
by BankaiBoy
Summary: Todd is sucked into the world of Shinigami as he discovers a hollow ravaged family lying dead one morning. When he touches their family heirloom, power erupts from within him, but is it his? Bleach, Ring, power, human, Iowa, Dorm, Todd, Aki, possession
1. Chapter 1: And so it begins

Chapter 1: And So It Begins…

Thousands of miles from the adventures of Ichigo and his followers, in a small Dutch town in the heart of America, three mangled bodies were stumbled upon by a local paper boy. Immediately, upon smelling the decay of their bodies, he shoulder rushed the door open, breaking the deadbolt on the third try and possibly his own shoulder along with it. He saw the bodies of an Asian-American family and used the deceased's phone to bring the police running. Before they got here, he put a history, made up or not, to the bodies and name on his route list. In his mind, they were the descendants of samurai or maybe even a shogunate as the sword on their mantle was in mint condition. As he fantasized about their past, strangely numb to their deaths, the police arrive and immediately suspected him of the crime.

But CSI, the people, not the ridiculous show, cleared him as his teeth weren't nearly large enough to cut through these people. However, nothing else in the house was broken, only the people, which rose a lot of questions as to what sort of animal was so precise in his target and could kill without any of the people resisting. In fact, all victims had been asleep at the time, according to the CSI's preliminary report.

He stayed awhile longer, out of the way, as he didn't really want to keep doing the newspaper after the events of this morning. People would understand, or at least be able to deal with one day without the news. Tomorrow's would be much more exciting anyways. Selfishly, and he hated himself for this, he wondered what would happen to all the stuff they had. Specifically the sword. It was cool, and frankly, he was a little kid in a candy shop for it. But like all little kids, he couldn't afford the candy he wanted.

The next day, he delivered the paper to the house. It was early and he had forgotten, despite it being front page news. And it was only for a second. He tossed it, it hit the door with a thud and it swung open a little, courtesy of his bruised shoulder. When he went to retrieve it, someone else came out. Her hair was streaked with pink, but silky black underneath, and pulled up into a stylish hairdo. She was obviously asian, but still pretty stacked for a high school girl. He guessed a relative, especially when she screamed in terror.

"Oh no no, I'm the paper boy." She had mistaken him for the killer, though he'd been ruled out already. "see?" He held up a paper he had to take to the next house.

"You…you found them, correct?" her accent made her seem genuinely pure bred. At first she spoke slowly, like she didn't have confidence in her English, but it was good enough and she realized it quickly as she invited him in. "I'm Aki Minawa. I was told to come claim their belongings but I can't bring myself to take any of it."

"I'm Todd, I'm sorry for your loss." He was, he had this innate empathy for people, and thus when something bad happen to anyone, he always felt their pain. Unfortunately this didn't work for the good happenings. They got to talking, and he knew he should just come back later but he stayed to comfort her. "So what's the story behind this?" He pointed to the sword.

"I'm not really sure, I don't believe its our ancestor's. In fact, I've never seen it before." She was stunning, with a face that expressed her thoughts as well as that angelic voice. He reached up to touch it, and his hand barely graced the hilt before he was blown back by an explosive force. Wide eyed, he looked at it, then to Aki, who also looked puzzled. "Did you trip?"

"What?" Everything had been blue for a second, then he was down, maybe he had a concussion.

"You just fell backward." She said.

"Yeah, I guess I did. Sorry. I actually need to get back to the route, is that okay? I could come back later if you want. Here, have my number." It was his cell as his dorm phone was always tied up by his roommate. A stupid freshman who missed his mommy while at boarding school.

"Sorry for tying up your time, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be here, but I'll be sure and let you know." They waved good bye to each other and immediately she texted him saying thanks. He said "no problem" and sent a possibly inappropriate smiley face, but she sent one back.

Instead of heading back home and sleeping, he went back to Aki, knocking on her door, which she answered with a smile.

"Hey, just curious, how old are you?" he asked her.

"22, why?"

Surprised he said, "Oh, I'm 18." She smiled and nodded, probably not sure why he had asked.

"So, I see you keep looking at it, and I know you want it, so take it." She meant the sword. And he did want it. But he protested, as a gesture, and she insisted, so he took it. Without tripping or being blown back by some imaginary force.

They talked some more, about light subjects and things that didn't bring up death or her family or wild animals. She was from a town called Karakura town, and was a journalist at a newspaper, which was rather ironic in his mind because he delivered newspapers. She smiled at the joke but he knew she was being polite. After while, he left to get ready for classes taking his gift with him to the dorm and hiding it from his roommate. During class, she texted him, asking him to come over if he could.

Turns out she was lonely and it had finally hit her that she had lost her only living relatives. While she didn't cry, he held her as if she was about to. After she pulled away from him, they began talking again. This time more seriously, about how she was scared for the future. Only an intern at work, there were signs that the editor wouldn't keep her on full time after her term was up. And her love life left her wanting for more as dates just weren't cutting it any more. She wanted a boyfriend, something Todd wanted to volunteer for, but of course, she was leaving soon and wouldn't go for him, so he didn't ask. After more talking, Aki said the jet lag was getting to her and she needed sleep and thus kicked him out. He went home, slammed the door and locked it since his roomie was out. Thank God. From beneath his bed, he pulled out the sword.

The scabbard was black with a gold symbol near the tsuba, and the red cloth around the hilt with gold at the end. Black cloth held the scabbard on by looping it around the tsuba. He released the cloth from its hold and prepared to draw it vertically. Before the metal even shined in the light, a gale force wind knocked him back. It was obvious now, the previous _trip_ wasn't normal and neither was this. But he held on for dear life as the winds blew. Standing up in the squall was no easy task, but he managed, and held the sword length wise in front of him and prepared to unleash the full supernatural power that came with unsheathing it. Pulling the sheath and the sword, the sword came cleanly out. AS the tip left its cover, the gale ended in an instant.

What was going on?

The room was trashed, he held a sword in hand, and three people were dead. And his body was laying on the floor.

Dropping the sword, he screamed out and fell to his knees, trying to cradle his body, but his hands went clean through and he was back in his body.

Again, what was going on?


	2. Chapter 2: Attack! Aki in Danger

Chapter 2: Attack! Aki in Danger

The next day, buried beneath the papers, Todd brought with him the present Aki had given him. While uneasy at returning something he got under such strange circumstances, he was also a little worried about his own health.

In the early morning, when all lights are out except the street lights placed too far apart to reach into every nook and cranny, you learn to listen. The natural world is very loud, but in the presence of humans, it becomes much quieter. So when a hoard of crickets stop playing their violins in unison, it doesn't hurt to look over real quick to check it out. Fear is good, it prevents unnecessary dying. There are other tells that something is going on, like rustling of leaves without a strong breeze, or dogs growling. Or a big hole in the wall.

Like two days before, Todd rushed in without even looking at the situation. For one, what could he do other than call for help on that same phone? Especially against a purple toad-like monster with a purple pelt of fur strewn across its back, claw's for hands, and easily the size of a Hummer with a decorated mask that split into two as it tried gobbling Todd's new friend.

That didn't stop him, the fact that a triple homicide had taken place here two days ago, that yesterday a tornado blew into his room, were things that he couldn't help. But his new friend being eaten alive was something he had to at least try to stop. Though it was May, and Football season was long over, he still had his quick yet strong physique as a wide receiver. Of course, even a line men couldn't tackle this thing to the ground, but again, he had to at least try. When he hit the squatting hind leg, the frog flicked him aside with one claw. As he skid on the sidewalk, on his only remaining good shoulder, it laughed as it held up Aki to look her over. She was passed out cold and in pink fuzzy pajamas. To the beast, she looked tasty, to him, she looked gorgeous even with her hair tussled so.

Grabbing three rocks as big as his fist, Todd hurled them at the beast, hitting the arm holding Aki's fate dead on, but even his throwing strength wasn't enough to secure her life. It did however piss off Mr. Monster who dropped Aki and came charging towards Todd. Panic set in, but the adrenaline boost settled him strangely as it always did in a game. Where others would panic and see no opening, he always had the presence of mind to find one. Before he could this time, the monster punched him with a fist nearly as big as him and he went flying into his car. Never having been hit quite that hard, Todd knew this could be the end. There'd be no chance with Aki, no hope for college, no way in hell he was surviving today.

Unless he ran. He hopped in his car by way of the passenger seat, and the monster came charging at him again with its mouth wide open, ready to devour him even if it meant eating a door. The monster rocked the car on its side, but it held together. Barely. And Todd ended up on his side, buried in papers. Something harder than just paper hit his head, and he fumbled for whatever it was.

The sword of course. Running was no longer an option and fighting had proven fruitless so far. He had to at least try. With no fear of gale force winds again, he quickly whipped out the blade and headed towards his opponent. His body magically fazed through the door as he jumped up, blade at the ready. Clumsy with the thing, he swung it prematurely and struck air, but managed to warn the monster to be on guard. This time when he swung downward, the cocky monster shielded with his two wrists. The blade was sharp enough that it sliced into the purple skin and the monster cried out and flailed its arms, and thus threw Todd towards the house.

In the perfect position to defend his _love_, he stood at the ready. The sword was shorter than what he expected, maybe three feet of blade and another at the handle. And heavy, which was a double-edged sword in itself. While the weight would help him damage the frog, he'd also have trouble swinging it around much longer. The light blade contrasted with the darker dull edge enhancing its allure. Letting the tip dip into the ground to save his own strength, he waited for the frog to do anything other than wail. It didn't bleed, but the gashes revealed a black pool held back by some magical force.

Finally, the monster lashed out once more in revenge and Todd swung the sword upward, letting the metal clink against the concrete before slicing the same wrists once more as the monster tried to block. Just when he rushed in to finish off the beast, the most amazing thing happened.

It spoke. "I'll leave for now," While it wasn't English, Todd understood perfectly, without any delay in the translation through his head. A swirling vortex opened up behind the frog and it backed up through, still watching Todd and it's prey.

"Aki, Aki! Are you okay?" She didn't wake up, and when he reached her, he knelt by her side which led him to his newer discovery. A change of clothing. Black poofy pants and a black trench coat tucked in. "This is new." And as he tried to touch her, his hand went clean through her cheek. She awoke with a start but gave no indication she saw him. In fact, in her grogginess, it took her a few minutes to notice the hole in the wall. She ran through it, brave and curious, and saw Todd's car. She must have recognized it, or just had some altruistic urge to see if whoever owned it was okay. Todd, silently running behind her, watched it unfold. First she pulled open the door, then unearthed the body from beneath the paper burial. Sticking his head through door, and not sure how, he watched her slap his body's face and felt the sting of it on his own face. She shook him and called his name, and when he reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, she turned around for an instant only to go back to the body. Remembering yesterday, he touched his body once more and was transported back into it. "Aki?" Confused, he called out her name. she mistook it as waking up from a concussion.

"You're okay, now. What happened?"

Todd shook his head, because he didn't really know. "I'm dead, my parents are gonna kill me! Diane, Princess Diane…Why!" He was referring to his car, which he explained to his friend. He further explained what he thought happened. However, she just nodded and smiled nervously, not entirely believed, or perhaps at all believed. They called the police and waited together, not talking, the sword hidden in his car once more.

What was strange, other than the whole encounter, was before he re-entered his body, the sword wasn't in his hand, his body's hand, but when he entered it, the sword appeared unsheathed with the scabbard where he left it by her house as he fought the toad. The police asked him what he saw, and he didn't tell them the whole truth, he just said he wasn't sure. They were dubious, but ruled him out again as a suspect.


	3. Chapter 3: Few Answers, More Questions

Chapter 3: Few Answers, More Questions…

He ended up not returning the gift to Aki, given how useful it had been the morning before. After Aki said she wasn't in the mood for friends, Todd left, went to class, and came home only to find his roommate tediously tiding up the room again, checking to make sure everything was still there and undamaged, even though he had twice the day before. Todd hated freshman. To escape, he went to the walmart, on foot of course. It was only a mile walk, and on his way back, darkness it's fangs in the town. A street light flickered off, and he was left without light. Even the moon hid from the night behind blankets of cloud. Tripping over a rock, he dropped his groceries on the floor, some saltines and goldfish with some Izze soft drink. As he checked them for damage he cursed that the bottles had broken.

"Such foul language, kids like you should watch their mouth." Todd stood up and looked around, but saw nothing. He was directly under the broken light, and when it strobed back on, he only saw shadowy movements.

"Who's there?" Todd wanted to bolt, but without knowing who it was or where he was, there was no way to know which way was safe.

"In front of you," more shadows shot from above to the ground in front of him. When the light steadied, a purple spikey hair man was standing before him, a possibly sexual tattoo on his cheek and a bandaid just above the 69 going across his nose and three vertical scars on his right eye. His black robe was sleeveless and Todd vaguely recognized the outfit. Some badge was attached to his left arm and he had a sword at his side like some samurai. He frowned and put one hand on his blade's handle. "Who are you?"

"Isn't that my line?" Todd said, trying to sound tough, but failing to do so as he was severely at a disadvantage. Especially after another man stood up, with messy blonde hair and a laid back smile. He also had his hand at the ready to draw a sword. Then a thin woman stood up behind the first speaker, with red hair, above her shoulder. "What do you want with me?"

"Your name, like we asked." The groupies behind him didn't speak.

"Todd, Todd Mackinac. Now who are you guys and what do you want?"

"Shuhei Hisagi, 9th division lieutenant and stand-in captain."

The woman or girl as she sounded so young said, "Mira Bromheid."

"Well, hey there Todd. I am here as a consultant to these two since none of us really know what to do. Are you the representative Shinigami?" said the laid back smiler.

"Huh?" Todd said.

"Either you are an idiot, sir, or you are not the man were looking for. Have you noticed anything strange recently?"

Feeling he shouldn't lie to such dangerous characters, he told the truth. "Yeah, I have. An out-of-body experience when I touch this sword, and like there was this monster thing, it looked like a toad but was purple and…"

"A hollow," said the tattooed man, Shuhei. "They eat souls." They explained the basics of soul society, shinigami, and hollows, which Todd didn't know how to respond to.

"Jokes on me, right?" Todd shook his head, then continued. "So why me?"

"We don't know, like I said before. None of us are sure what's happening." Todd asked for his name but the question was evaded with more explanation, like what a representative shinigami was. Apparently, only one other case was heard of and no one knew Todd existed as another representative. Todd said it had to be him, given their description but he wasn't aware of it. The purple haired one didn't look trusting.

"Come back to my place and I'll show you the sword, the zan thingy." They agreed and correctly told him that it was zanpaktou. They got back to his place, and he started introducing them to his roommate with "This is…" when Shuhei said that no one else could see him, "unbelievable, they broke my Izze." _Good save,_ thought Todd. The nameless shinigami had disappeared to investigate elsewhere.

Grabbing his the sword from beneath his twin bed, his roommate saw it, and began saying, "whoa! What is that? Can I see?" But Todd was already slamming the door on his way out. He headed behind his dorm, it was secluded enough that any tornado wouldn't be seen or damaging.

He pulled out the blade, bracing for a tornado, but nothing this time. However, he did notice his body fainting in front of him. He stood on his own back until he stepped away. This time the sheath appeared on his hip and he looked a bit like Shuhei and Mira, in his shinigami clothes. Representative or not, they all looked similar now. But when he checked his arm, he saw no such badge.

Shuhei drew his sword and said, "Todd Mackinac, you're under arrest by orders of Soul Society. Return your weapon to its blade and you will remain unharmed. Fight and I can guarantee you'll die." A sharp dagger from behind was pointed at his neck.

"Listen to him, Todd." The nameless man was behind him, ready to kill. Not a headstrong idiot, he put the blade away, and offered up his hands. They clapped on red plastic looking cuffs that when he tested, served to irritate his shoulders.


	4. Chapter 4: Answers! Finally

Chapter 4: Answers! Finally…

A big door appeared, definitely not American in make, and a bright light shined through when it opened. Christian from birth, he had mixed feelings about this new discovery. One, his doubts were confirmed, two, everyone was wrong, as usual, and finally, now he could tell everyone. He quickly trashed that thought, the truth is too often cast aside for the brighter or longer held beliefs.

As he entered this Soul Society, he looked around for something, for anything. It looked like old feudal Japan always looked like in his head. No one gawked at the door to the other world, they were all busy with their own lives. Shuhei and Mira led the way while the more dangerous nameless man was behind him, dagger still ready to draw blood if needed. Kids ran from a large commotion that they apparently caused as the owner of the stand yelled after them. None of the escorts made a move to help the stand-owner.

"So this is where you guys live?" Todd said, Shuhei didn't bother looking back, but Mira glanced his way and shook her head.

"Oh no, not in the least, I mean, yes if you can say you live on Earth without getting more specific. This is actually for the common folk, not shinigami. We all came here at some point, but once you get hungry, its 'cause you got soul power that's eating away your energy so you gotta eat something or you die. That's a good way to spot candidates for future shinigami. But it's not perfect, 'cause not everyone has a lot of power, and they'll die if they even bother trying." Shuhei shot her a look, she had loosened up tremendously since they captured him. Perhaps fearing he was some cold-blooded renegade, and here, where she was comfortable, she no longer held that conviction.

"So…are my grandparents here?" Todd asked.

"Of course, well, if they're dead. Are they?" He nodded. "Then yes, but don't bother looking, everyone who has ever died is here so you got billions of people to look through to find them. And even if you did, they wouldn't know who you are. Coming here is like starting over. No identity, no history, you just kinda go with the flow and find it for yourself."

"Mira!" Shuhei said, and she shut up for the remainder of the walk. They came to a large wall with an equally large gate letting them in. The air had thickened up since the Rukongai, like a very humid day back on Earth, but with all the chills of a Hollywood horror flick. "You'll be transported to a chamber of seki seki stones until they figure out what to do with you. Feel free to keep the sword, but it'll be useless to you here. Not only do you have the weakest spiritual pressure here to begin with, trapped within a seki seki stone chamber you won't even be able to release your Zanpaktou so don't bother trying."

"Release…?" His voice trailed off as a cable shot out from a staff to his cuffs and then another and another for a total of three and he was dragged away by three hooded men. He tried asking them, but they didn't bother humoring him. The chamber they led him to was pure white from the outside, but on the inside was pitch black. Two sides to a building that as the day or night went on, he found more and more symbolic of people in this world and the last. How even the greatest heroes have such darkness inside of them, and how such darkness could be the cause for their great bravery and strength.

Interrupting his thought, a door opened up and a large man in Shinigami attire brought a tray of food. "You're probably hungry, right? I am Iwambo from squad 4, pleased to meet you. I will bring you your meal and attend to injuries should you have any." Todd shook his head. "Very well, do not be afraid to ask."

Before Iwambo finished the nicety, Todd asked about what they meant by release, which Iwambo explained. There was Shikai, the first release, generally anyone would could do this would be in a seated position, said Iwambo, leading Todd to ask what he meant by seated position. He responded by saying the top five fighters in each squad are known as 5th seat, 4th, third, lieutenant and captain. Again, Todd asked what he meant by squads, as no one explained it to him. Thus leading to his full understanding of how Soul Society worked. Todd finally said "thanks, I got it now." But Iwambo interrupted with, "Hold it, beyond Shikai is Bankai which only a few people in all of Soul Society can do. The Captains, a few lieutenants, and not many others."

"So how would I go about achieving all this?" Todd asked, excited at the prospect of talking to his Zanpaktou and seeing what shape it took on.

"That all depends on you and your training, it'll take awhile if you can even do it. Years at the least. And in here, there's no way your training at all other than the basic sword play."

"Why?"

"This is Seki Seki stone, as in, it sucks you dry of Spiritual Pressure, the basis of a shinigami's power. This place can easily make a Captain as weak as an academy student. As you have notice the air for you is a little easier to take in here, correct?"

"Oh…yeah"

"See, for most Shinigami, we actually feel deprived, but since you are so new to all of this, it is only natural, normal for you is different."

Disappointed, Todd said he knew all he needed and that Iwambo could be off. He thanked Iwambo as he left and the black man only held up a hand as he walked away. "Dammit, I was getting all excited to." But like Iwambo said, he could learn sword play and at least do exercise. After warming up his muscles with push ups and sit ups and squats and squat thrusts and everything else he use to do during football season other than run as the room was barely larger than his dorm room. "I guess prisoners, guilty or not, get no perks here." He started swinging the sword around, like he saw on movies like Kill Bill and the like, but he hardly could be called a warrior already. When his arm grew tired, he rested some on the futon they provided him. Iwambo came back a few more times with food and to chat, but Todd didn't mention his training. Assuming he was fed three square meals a day, Todd had been prisoner for two days, when he decided to continually swing vertical for a set number, then horizontal, then diagonal and then in other directions, up instead of down, left instead of right, etc. By the fifth day, he realized his hunger more and more after the exercise and mentioned it to Iwambo who merely smiled in return. The next meal was the same size and again Todd commented on the acerbic treatment of prisoners. When he became really tired, he would talk to the Zanpaktou, hoping his words would reach it so when he did get out of here and could really train, however he would do that, he'd be a little ahead of square one.


	5. Chapter 5: Full Blast!

Chapter 5: Full Blast! The Mystery of a Human's Strength in Soul Society

Once, Iwambo interrupted his training, remarking he needed to put more weight behind each swing and that even Squad 4 members knew that much. When Todd asked why he said that, he explained the basics for the squads. "Squad 4 are healers and basically everyone's bitch while Squad 12 is the research department headed by Mayuri leader of the Technology stuff. And Squad 11 is known as the face-to-face fighters. They're all sword masters but flunked their kidou lessons." Again, Todd was baffled by the word. "Kidou is when you harness spiritual pressure by use of chants to cast different effects, shielding, sealing, attacking, what have you."

"Magic, got it." Iwambo left and Todd continued training, not bothering to stop as he heard Iwambo come in the days ahead. Someone else replaced Iwambo one day, and even before he opened the door, Todd knew it wasn't his care taker and stopped training, but he couldn't hide his sweat and the new care taker asked a guard if it was okay, which they assured him it was. It was seki seki stone after all.

Iwambo didn't come back after that. It had been two weeks, by now it would be May in his world. He trained day and night, whenever he had the strength to swing his sword. Food was delivered by different members of Squad 4, none quite as friendly as the giant Iwambo.

One day, Mira came to his cell while he was asleep. Her staring at him woke him up. She didn't have food, but she had news. In fact, she was there to set Todd free. The Commander-Chief said it was all a big misunderstanding, and that they apologized for that egregious mistake. But also that he couldn't go back to the real world at the moment because all Senkai gates were closed. Todd decided not to ask what a Senkai gate was but assumed it was how he got here.

"So what am I supposed to do?" he asked instead of relieving his ignorance a little bit more.

"You could go to the academy and learn to be a real Shinigami or you could just skip that since you already have the basics down pat, right?" She was leaving as she said this, and then she added. "Come with me, I'll show you around town and we'll see if we can get you into a squad." He started running towards her to catch up with her small lead, planning to ask if she knew anything about his town and Aki. But as he exited the door way, Zanpaktou in hand, an eruption within him halted his progress. Mira herself turned to see, and the guards stepped back as though they feared his awesome power.

In reality, he had no more Spiritual Pressure than a new squad recruit fresh from the academy, but not too many new recruits were on full blast. He fell to his knees, unable to contain the power and hold it for much longer. Before his knees hit the stone, a blur snatched him up and he was whisked from his original spot. Trying to see who it was, he crooned his head, got a look at his apathetic face and jet black hair hanging in his face, kept out of his eye sight by white clips. As he opened his mouth, the oxygen was sucked from him and he passed out.


	6. Chapter 6: Shikai? Child's Play

Chapter 6: Shikai? Child's Play

Back in the Soul Society, Mira escorted Todd to the academy. Commander-Chief Yamamoto was there complimenting new students and greeted them out of grandfatherly courtesy. When Todd asked who he was, even in a whisper, Commander-Chief turned his attention fully at him. "You idiot," Mira whispered.

"Who is this that does not know me?" he said. "A new pup fresh from the rukongai? No, no one so young would be so ignorant."

"He is the boy from Earth that had shinigami abilities and even a Zanpaktou." Mira said.

"Todd Mackinac, sir, I, uh, didn't know you were the guy in charge, I'm sorry, sir." The old man let out a belting laugh and tapped his cane on the ground.

"It is not necessary to apologize, I did not know we had a visitor to the academy. Are you here to enroll? After all, they plan to keep you here for a while longer."

"I guess, sir, I mean, I don't know. Are you in charge?" Mira was tugging at his sleave, telling him to shut up and go.

The bald man smiled behind that beard and moustache, "That's what I'm told, but not all leaders know everything." They left him, saying good-bye and thanking him for his time, then Mira explained that he was the Captain of the Captains, and commanded the Gotei 13, but was underneath the Central 46, who were Parliament of sorts from what Todd understood, and that the King was above them all but no one had seen or heard from him recently.

"So say I want to learn shikai, where would I go?" Mira started laughing hysterically after he said it. "What?"

"Shikai isn't learned at some class. After you have been fighting with it for some time, and have trained your reiatsu to a much higher degree, can you even begin unlocking that first release."

"Oh," he said, disappointed. But he quickly cheered up and said, "Have you released yours?"

Blushing, she said, "Well, yeah, but its no big deal."

"Really? You look so young, I figured you were just out of the academy…" She blushed more and told him to stop. "So let's fight! Teach me how to bring it out like you did."

"Um…it just sort of happened, I can't really teach you how. You just do it." He frowned at the response. "And a duel would probably just leave you injured, no offense but you're a newbie at this."

He begged and begged and finally said, "Then at least show me how, please?!" She started walking away when he felt the pangs of defeat loom over his spirit. But when she sighed and said, _fine_, extending the first vowel inordinately, his cheerfulness returned.

A plan began to bubble in his head as they walked to a secluded wooded area. "Now, understand that to release your zanpaktou, you have to call out a command first, then it's name." She said she was no teacher, but given the opportunity, she sure took to the role quickly, even after refusing. Drawing her blade, and holding it vertically, he felt something build up and squeeze the oxygen from the air. He was finding it hard to breathe, like during that humid spell when he first arrived. And after a few seconds of the muggy air, a blue flame exploded around here, devouring her in it's ever rippling power. "Swing down your heavenly Judgment and cleave off the head of the wicked, Chop, Chihiroto!" (Chi -Thousand, Hiro - Command, To - Constellation Ursa Major) The flame spiked in all directions, and for a second, Todd had the instinctual urge to run, when her Zanpaktou began glowing white in the furnace of her soul. Quickly the blue flame disappeared and the white glow around the Zanpaktou grew then dispersed. In her hand, where her sword once was, was a pure white double-headed axe with gold trim on the head and down to the slender handle. Both her hands were gripped tight around it, and hefted it upward, without much effort, to rest the shaft on her shoulder. Sweat was around her brow from the transformation, but now that it was over, she quickly recovered her pep. "And that's how shikai is done. After much training, of course."

"My turn!" he said, like a little kid in line for a ride. She laughed when he drew his blade, then some more as he flexed his muscles in an attempt to build up reiatsu. "Dammit! Work!!" He kept flexing, his face turned red with strain, and his veins popped out and breathing labored. And when he finally couldn't stand pushing any harder, he expelled his finally bit of strength in a single effort. The effort was not without result, a tiny flame flickered around his body, but quickly died out. He sighed, then fell back, dizzy from not breathing.

"It's not your body that does the work. It's your spirit." She complimented his effort, but he felt patronized and stood up once again to try. "It's not going to work, you can't just will it to happen at this stage. You need a lot more reiatsu."

But nonetheless he poured his strength into flexing once more, and Mira began to grow bored with him, when the tiny flame sparked again and then spiked to a unprecedented level for him and continued to ruffle. Her yawn became a wide eyed look of admiration, as he continued to peak his power. "Meet my gaze, Kikokorokou." (Ki - pure, Kokoro - heart, Kou - peace).


	7. Chapter 7: My House, My Rules

Chapter 7: My House, My Rules

As he commanded his Zanpaktou to show its new form, Mira began to speak out in protest to such an impossible act, when something smashed into the ground around him, causing dust to shield her view and clog her air. Coughing violently, she tried to see what was happening. It took a few seconds before the dust settled enough to see even his outline. His knee was sticking out and his body low. Where he once held his sword vertically at the ready, now the hand was twisted enough to have the previous sword diagonal to his shoulder, and the other hand was nearer his butt. And in each hand was a thick cylindrical handle, heavily wrapped in white cloth, and on each side of each handle, a thicker gleaming white blade curved to meet the other hand's handle, thus forming a near perfect circle with. The dark grey unsharpened metal, on the inside ring, rested on his shoulder and his knee.

She began to mouth admiration for the boy, and disbelief, when the large ring blade slid off his knee, onto the ground while a different sector hit him on the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious. While he had the fortitude and natural talent to release this state, he hardly had the strength to even hold it's product.

Asleep, Todd had the most wondrous dream. In this world, a sea of black sand, constantly sliding to the edges of the flat world, sat beneath a pink sky with lazily drifting white clouds that hardly blocked the harsh rays of the three suns. But even more magnificent was the fat man with a big smile sitting on the black sand. His smile was so wide his eyes were shut and all his teeth showed between his lips. His big Buddha belly exposed beneath a tube top and blue vest, and he had gold bands around his arms and white parachute pants. He almost looked like a genie with the pony tail in back and bald other than that. "Do you wish to know it?"

"Know what?" Todd asked.

"It's name!"

Suddenly Todd realized a blade was surrounding him, the ring was less heavy than it was in Soul Society and he could stand freely. "You wish to fight it? It fight good, let it fight!" The Buddha-like giant stood, revealing he was even taller than Todd, with his own blade surrounding him, though this one was much bigger than the one Todd had.

"It is Kikokoroko, now we eat!" Instead of wishing up utensils and food, Kikokoroko charged forward with surprising speed, and he seemed much bigger than Todd up close. Todd's legs hardly held up when the two blades connected with a clink. If the genie-man put more weight behind the charge, Todd would fall on his ass and have a big gash running down his shoulder to his hip. Just when Todd was relieved he was still standing, the Genie used one hand to spin the blade around him.

Considering up until a few weeks ago, Todd had never handled a sword, and he had only trained with a normal katana, using this ring blade was like riding a bike for the first time. He couldn't just do nothing, but he had no idea what to do!

The genie fell forward when Todd leapt backwards, separating the two by five feet or so. But then the genie somersaulted forward and was on his feet. But the blade was at his waist, horizontal now, and he whipped his hips around and the blade spun like a hula-hoop and slowly the genie came closer and closer.

"Shit, shit, shit," Todd said as he tried to run, but the weight was so much suddenly that the previous jump to safety seemed impossible now. "Come on, come on, move!!" he loudly shouted at himself. And with his own self-abuse, he found the strength to move. Actually, he found the strength to fall over.

"You'll figure it out," the genie man said as he stopped thrusting his hips in all directions. Todd fell onto his back, relieved that he would live. The ring blade of each had disappeared. Kikokoroko was sitting Indian-style with a sandwich in his hand. He ate it in two bites. Then the blade reappeared around him. "You ready?" Somehow, the exhaustion Todd previously felt after the suddenly spurt of fighting was gone. Even the blade felt lighter. Still too heavy for him to dash forward like the genie, but he could at least step a little without falling over. When the genie clanked the two similar blades together, Todd sank into the sand, as if he hit a lot harder than last time. One sandwich couldn't add that much weight to the blow. Todd ripped his feet from the sand when the genie prepared to hit once more. This time the blow was lighter and Todd continued standing, on top of the sand. But a second succession surprised him and he fell.

The genie stopped fighting once more, and wished away the blades and created another sandwich with a snap. "You slow, I know! Water!" He snapped again, the blades reappeared and instead of black sand, there was water beneath them, as ebony as the previous. For a second, Todd hung in the air, then plunged deep into the black depths. He could hardly see, but Kikokoroko was visible. Trying to swim to the surface, Todd sunk deeper beneath the dense ring. "What you do? Just float!" He said it so easily, without the water gargling his words.

Todd began to open his mouth to protest then remembered even though he was dead, Shuhei said he could still die again. Finally, after holding his breath for as long as he could, he released what little he had, and prepared to drown. "My house, my rule, no air anywhere! This not earth, not even Soul Society, my world! My house, no need to breathe. Food time!" The earlier spurts began, even as Todd panicked about not breathing, but when that first blow connected, he forgot about breathing and just naturally fought on. Breathing was unnecessary as the Genie had said. And by relaxing, they continued to float in the same positions. From time to time, he would snap up the black sand again, then switch to water, and they would fight on whichever he chose. His house, his rules.


	8. Chapter 8 Shikai Cause For Investigation

Chapter 8: Shikai – Cause for Investigation

This continued from the black sandstorm, Todd walked, holding the ring blade vertical in one hand, with Kikokoroko breathing heavily. "You done!" he said. "when you come?"

"Huh?" Todd said. Very proud of himself. He never had time in the genie boot camp to think about things like when he came here, but he remembered what he saw before he arrived at this world. Apparently Kikokoroko could see his thoughts because he snapped his finger and he awoke from his dream briefly to see Mira coming towards him at a run. But he fell beneath a great weight and was once again dreaming. A woman was standing in shinigami robes, with black hair and thin framed glasses, and a very petit Asian look to her, but in a way, most people here did too. She almost looked like Aki, but that may have been because to Americans like him, a lot of Asians look the same. Her stoic appearance broke as she knelt down, suddenly in front of Todd. The words were lost in a white noise, but he heard the motherly kindness in her voice. "Odd…Todd…" she said, eventually breaking the barrier. He rose to meet her, but his body was heavy and he had trouble doing more than simply sitting. "You need to get up, hun. I know it's hard, but can you stand?" Her hand was upon his elbow, tugging him up and for that moment he felt weightless. When he stood, he towered over her by nearly a foot. He wanted to collapse onto the floor once more, but her smile gave him strength.

"Who are you?" he asked.

She smiled, saying, "Do you not recognize me?"

With three suns, heat seems the norm, but until now, it had not affected him. As he started to answer her, the heat wave blurred her, though she was barely a foot from him. "No, no. I don't. I can't even see. Who--" Her hand was reaching towards his cheek, and it reached it only for a second. And then he was awake. Mira was standing over him as was Iwambo who had his hands out over Todd. They were glowing.

Todd sat up but couldn't stay that way. He felt heavier than he had in a long time. Probably the gravity since Kikorokokour hadn't been to keen on keeping it on. That was when he first thought of the dream world. He wasn't sure if it was real or not. "Stay down, young man." Iwambo kept his hands glowing, but also forced them upon Todd's chest so he could keep Todd from sitting up anymore. Turning to check if anyone else was near, he noticed Mira had sealed her shikai back up and it was just a long katana now. He _also_ noticed that Mira was just about to fall out of her top and he turned away in embarrassment, only to find himself incapable of resisting and he kept peeking. She must have noticed because she closed her robes a little more and stood up. He should have apologized. He would have too, if he wasn't so tired.

Iwambo finished healing Todd's body but he still wasn't ready to stand up yet, though lying down wasn't real comfortable either. When he did force himself to stand, he was a little wobbly, he realized why he was so uncomfortable lying down. His zanpaktou had been lying under him, right along his spine. It had resealed itself on its own.

"You idiot," Mira said finally. "I told you it was too much for you. But you didn't listen, you just had to push—" Iwambo held up a hand to silence her.

"I guess I kind of fainted. But I know I can do it if I just have another chance. I had this dream and I saw it!" He had already picked up his Zanpaktou and was pulling it out.

But she ignored his last point. It was irrelevant. "What do you mean another chance? You already did it, you idiot." Then she added, "But don't try it again. The Captain-Commander sent his 3rd seat to investigate and do you realize how much explanation I had to do to keep them from locking you up again?" All he could do was stare blankly at her. Her robe was falling open again and he was doing his best to focus no lower than her lips. He was so distracted that he didn't even re-sheath his sword until she told him to. "We have to report to the Captain-Commander when you recover, and from there he'll decide what to do with you."

"Are you ready?" Iwambo asked. "Or do you need my services any longer?" Todd waved him off, until he thought of something. "Hey, Iwambo," it felt weird saying his name. "What's your shikai like?" Iwambo grew grave. His smile was now a stoic frown.

"It is unbecoming of my position," was his only answer.


	9. Chapter 9: Second Meeting with

Chapter 9: The Second Meeting with Captain-Commander Yamato

The second time Todd met Commander Yamato, he didn't have the grandfatherly smile he had before. No one could see that of course, but they could sense it. His brows were furrowed too, relenting his disappointment. The nine Captains were standing around Todd. A rows four on his left, and 5 on his right side, with the Commander standing in front of him. Behind him sat Shuhei and another lieutenant he had been introduced to. A grave looking boy named Kira. He hardly looked old enough to be in his position. And the other was person next to them was Mira and then the nameless man from before, who no longer had a dopey smile. All these people around him were pretty intimidating too. It was almost too much for him to breathe. It was like before when he _could_ breathe, but it _felt _like he couldn't. All the reiatsu in the room was suffocating, even though they were all holding back. Among the most interesting people in the room was the boy, even younger than Kira named Hitsugaya, the giant dog-faced man named Komamaru, and then the laid back Captain in a pink robe. He couldn't remember his name. Then there was a severe young woman who glared at him the entire time named Soi Fon. Also a silver haired captain who kept coughing. There was this fox of a woman directly to his left named Unohana. She had even bigger breasts that Mira! There was also a strangely painted man with a blue mane, and Todd didn't know if it was real or not. Then there was this man who looked so bored with the proceedings he might just drift off. His name was Byakuya and Todd noted he walked strangely into the place. And the remaining captain was another giant with an eye patch named Kenpachi. He looked bored too, but also dangerous. He had heard there were 13 squads but he only counted 10 captains and two stand-ins.

If he was ever allowed to leave, he would ask Mira or someone about this. The commander spoke loudly, even though the room wasn't that big. It echoed around him and he felt himself cringe beneath the voice. "State your name."

"Todd Mack-eh-naw" he said, slowly pronouncing the syllables.

"And why have you come here?"

Todd hesitate and looked around until the old man banged his cane on the floor. He must have thought it was a gavel too. Todd kept his eyes on the Commander. "I-I-I" he kept stuttering, "I was brought here by three shinigami." The commander didn't respond. "Mira, Shuhei and a man I haven't heard the name of." Still no response. After a minute, "I'm a paperboy. Back on earth, I mean, and this um, hollow as you guys call them attacked one of the clients and I found this sword and I guess got the powers from it. That's all I know," then he quickly said, "Sir."

"We have looked into your past and your words are true, but, how could some one from Earth, a living being, possess shinigami abilities?" It didn't get an answer from anyone. "Do you have any association with Aizen?" It hung in the air heavily, but Todd was clueless. No one spoke, but he knew they all wanted to murmur something to their neighbor.

"Um, sir, I don't know an Aizen." Todd was having trouble speaking loud enough and was afraid he'd be asked to repeat himself. Yamato only nodded. "Who is he?" His curiosity got the better of him, and the earlier urge to whisper came back to his _jury_.

"Do not concern yourself with him."His voice intensely boomed through the room. "We have only questions for you and you have given us no answer. I will consider what we know and act upon it in time. Until then, you are not charged with any crime other than the release of your Zanpaktou during a state of peace. You are new here and will not receive the usual punishment, but you will be assigned an escort. Until we render our judgement of you, you will be in his custody. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yes, sir, I guess." Then a strange thought came to mind and he blurted it out. "Sir, my neighbor, the one killed by the hollow. Is it possible she was one of you?" He knew it wasn't the husband seeing as only _she_ ever appeared in his dreams. And Kikorokokou had been adamant that Todd was not as pretty as his last visitor.

"We will check, but all missing-shinigami are being closely monitored. There is no reason to think that." His confidence ended the discussion and Todd kept his head down. "Now, my squad's 3rd seat will escort you out. Mario." He shouted it, but it wasn't much louder than his regular voice. A man with a shaved head entered the hall. As he got closer, Todd realized how muscular this guy was. His robes had no sleeves and Todd saw the muscles bulge as the large veiny hand tugged at his robe. Todd only came up to this guys chin. He acted like every cop Todd knew. All business.

They left and he caught Mira's glance as he left the room. After the doors closed, he swore he heard chatter erupt from within. The doors didn't open back up again like Todd hoped. No Mira bouncing out calling him an idiot. He already missed her, even though he knew her for a few days. She was a much better guard too. She at least talked to him. This guy, Mario, didn't say anything to him and kept tugging on his sleeve. Todd thought _his_ might get ripped off.

"Hey, hey hey, stop!" Todd ripped the cloth from the grip. "I can't keep up with you like this."

"Tough shit, pip." _Pip?_ His voice was pretty unnerving too. There was no way Todd could run away even if he wanted to. He'd have to plow through this brick wall if he tried. "I'll kill you myself if you don't keep up."

"What the hell's your problem?" Todd kept his distance. A good five feet. Mario started walking towards him and Todd backed up at about the same pace.

"You! I got a great workout until you blow in here and we're all on alert for what? Some shit playing dress-up. They should just kill you and be done with it. We've got enough problems, kay." He wasn't kidding either. He'd rather kill Todd than have his workout interrupted any longer.

Playing the peacemaker, Todd said, "okay, okay, I'm sorry, but I don't know what I've done. It wasn't intentional. Maybe I can help you. Help you train, you know. I mean, I can release—"

Mario ran up and Todd didn't back down. "Don't say another word, pip. You can watch and you'll thank me for it. Don't go getting any ideas in your head about _helping_ 'cuz then I really will kill you and be in big trouble for it."

Todd was done running from this guy, and he even leaned in closer. "I bet you couldn't. Hell I could probably take on the whole lot of—"

"You wanna try, pip?" They were face to face.

"It's Todd." Todd backed down by looking away. He couldn't keep the stare down going. He really wanted to laugh at this guy, but knew he shouldn't.

"Let's go." Mario pulled him to a wooded area that had to be a few miles away. About a mile in, Todd felt so rebellious, he just stopped walking and let Mario drag him. Mario didn't notice. Pointing to a log, he said, "Sit there, keep quiet, and watch. You can be grateful too." Todd watched alright. He watched Mario do push ups and sit ups then hand stands then hand-stand push ups. Then he got out his sword which was shorter than Todd's by half a foot, and started swinging it around. He was pretty fast too at swinging it. Then he started hacking at the trees. With a single swipe he sliced it down, then caught the hefty conifer and hauled it back to where Todd was sitting. That was probably how Todd even had a seat. But then he threw it up in the air and as it came hurtling down towards him, because the guy really launched it high in the air, it looked like a tree was falling, the way it stood upright. Todd thought about jumping in to push him out of the way, but as it hit with a loud _thud_, Todd shied away and couldn't look.

_Oh god, he's dead, I know it._ He thought until he dared to look and into there was Mario with his sword pointing straight up in the air while two halves of the tree lay on his sides. "Whoa, that was—"

"Yeah, pretty great huh, pip?"

"God, I hate you."


	10. Chapter 10: Orders to Kill

Chapter 10: Orders to Kill

Todd watched as the bald man hacked, tossed, and stabbed the logs in the area. In an hour, there was a receding treeline and a lot more seats. Except he didn't leave them as just two half logs, instead he chopped them from there. But not by actual chops, but by impaling them. Sometimes he missed and Todd laughed at him for it. After Mario had reached about 10 feet further back, Todd decide he should give it a try too. He was feeling pretty confident given everything that he'd seen and all he knew he could already do.

But once he began drawing his blade, Mario was instantly at his side—Shunpo—with his sword at Todd's throat. "Try it." It was a challenge Todd almost took. Mario really riled him up, but Todd put it away.

"Come on, what am I going to do? You really think you can beat me, then just let me train with you. Whose gonna care?" Todd kept talking as his watchman drew the sword away. Todd's throat had a little speck of blood dribbling down it. "Scared?"

Mario just about swung the sword back around to chop Todd's head off, but all he did was stare down Todd. Todd met the gaze. He met it twice as hard, then started pulling his sword out again. His opponent's eyes darted to the sword for an instant but he didn't stop Todd again. "I warned you."  
Charging at him, Todd had his sword up and at the ready. It was awkward in his hand and Mario poked it away. It clanged against the log, but Todd snatched it back up and ran. He wasn't use to using a regular sword. He wasn't even use to his ring blade, but he didn't dare release it again. Not after what had happened before. With Mira, he was safe, but this guy might really kill him, so he ran at full speed, ready to stab at Mario, but Mario attacked first and Todd was quick to block the overhand strike, only to realize how strong this guy really was. Todd couldn't hold the sword straight and he fell to one knee and his other hand was supporting the blade. All the battle experience he had was against that hollow that knocked him around and against Kikorokokou in his dream. Mario drew the blade back and Todd started standing when the man's blade came back down. Todd's left hand was no longer holding the blade and Mario's blade slid off to the side, so Todd took the opportunity to try attacking again. He swung it like a baseball bat at the brick wall, but he wasn't there any more. Shunpo. _Dammit_. This time Mario was behind him and Todd turned to see the blade headed right at his head.

But it missed. Todd felt the cool blade against his temple. The flat edge slid smoothly as Mario took care not to slice his ear. "Told you."He said. He was about to return it to the sheath, when Todd let himself get angry and he started swinging again. It was pretty clumsy at first and Mario was so off guard he could only dodge it and Todd's swings became a little more consistent, comfortable even. They were mostly diagnonal swings, but also vertical and horizontal, until he tripped. Todd tripped over one of those heaps of woods and fell flat on his face. "You crazy, pip?" Mario stepped on Kikorokokou and Todd was too embarrassed to get up. "Swinging like a madman won't get you anywhere." He was leaning in an shouting in Todd's ear. God, his face hurt. Stepping off the blade, Mario put his own away.

With a few grunts, Mario hefted all the wood out of the way so that they had a ten foot circle. Todd was still lying down when he started but stood up now. "Pip, this is for your own good." And that was how _pip_ learned the basics of sword play. For three days, they dueled. Todd had a few cuts on him that healed by the time morning came, but he was feeling pretty good about using the sealed sword. He still longed for the ring blade, but he didn't bother asking Mario about using it. Even though Mario kept being nasty to him and telling him he was talentless and all that, Todd was quickly learning to block, to swing, to even maneuver. The unspoken agreement seemed to prevent Mario from using Shunpo and his shikai. Maybe even his bankai, if he had one. Apparently Mario had no other duties right now other than watching Todd, so he took advantage of it to train with Mario. He was pretty big too, but not nearly as strong as Todd orginally thought. Todd even broke his guard a few times. And he was smart enough to catch on to Mario's pattern. He stabbed a lot, but also had a lot of vertical slices. His confidence in his precision seemed to make him prefer heavy damage attacks rather than wide-ranged ones. Todd was the opposite, he discovered. He did a lot of horizontal slices and diagonal ones too, but not too many stabs. He couldn't get it down for one and Mario was so good with his own, he even met one of Todd's stabs with pinpoint precision so it was down to a power struggle, which Mario won.

Even though he had a pattern, he was pretty inconsistent on somethings. Like when Todd broke his guard, it seemed really easy sometimes, and other times, Mario had such a strong guard, Todd couldn't even throw him off-kilter. It was the darndest thing. They took regular breaks because though he wouldn't admit it, Mario needed them from time to time. Todd had a pretty raw reiatsu that he was unaware of that diminished Mario's.

When they were on a break, Mario went to grab some water and food. When he got back, Mario threw the bottle to Todd who drank it gratefully and then ate at his mysterious meal. Mario drank in peace and didn't eat anything. Something about not needing food until the training was over. Fasting or something. He even showed a softer side on this break. There was this really strange butterfly, it was black, that Mario held a finger out for. It landed on the perch and stayed there for a few minutes. He stopped his drinking and walked over to Todd, very slowly. Mario then held out his sword in front of him and slowly pulled the sheath off. "Pin him down," Todd had no idea what was going, but he knew this wasn't for practice anymore. He tossed the water bottle aside and drew his sword. He was so panicked he couldn't focus straight and couldn't remember what he did before to release his own shikai. "Dai Hiroki!"(Dai – Vast Hiroki – Abundant Strength).


	11. Foreword From the Author

Foreword from the Author:

So it has been just over a year since I last wrote in this. Literally, a day over a year. I checked and laughed and stuff. So anyways, I've been editing some of the older chapters, and writing new ones. I have created some new characters for the story which may or may not conflict with the canon story of Bleach. I wrote this for fun and am continuing to do so because its good practice for actual writing, though I mentioned this before, I wasn't planning on making this my masterpiece. Really, I write this when I'm stuck on other stories and just need to get my creative juices flowing. Each chapter will only be 4 to 6 pages I think. Some maybe longer, but that seems to be my limit. I'll go back and edit these more once I'm out of new material and other things to write. Anyways, this is my story set in the Bleach worlds, set just after Ichigo has left for the real world and Aizen's betrayal. During the bount filler arc I guess. Enjoy, leave feedback and tell your friends if you like it. Or if you hate it so they can rip on it. I don't mind negative feedback.


	12. Chapter 11: First Blood

Chapter 11: First Blood

"Pin him down, Dai Hiroki" (Dai – Vast Hiroki – Abundant Strength)

A blast of light surrounded Mario. His face was as stoic as when they first met. Angry almost, but also a little sad. His right hand held a long English style knight sword and strapped to his left arm was a rectangular shield, black but with a white cross on it.

Todd was having trouble focusing long enough to keep the tiny blue flame around him flickering. This turn of events scared him.

"1st squad, 3rd Seat, Mario Seloqua. Under high order of the Central 46, you are under arrest for treason against Soul Society. The punishment is execution. Please resist, and allow me to do the courtesy of ending it now."

Finally he got his reiatsu boiling, "Meet my gaze, Kikorokokou!" As before there was a small explosion at his feet that kicked up dust so Mario couldn't see well. "Heh, thanks for talking so much. This is my second time so it took me a little bit, but I think I got it down. Now what were you saying?"

"It is a courtesy to extend our names to our opponents so they can die knowing who bested them." Mario raised this sword before him, holding it in both hands. The flat edge faced out, until he turned it and drew the hilt to his side. He charged forward and was ready to stab. Though Todd knew his pattern, he wasn't sure how to handle it with the ring blade. At least he didn't drop it this time. The blade was closing in, just about to reach him when Todd hefted the right side up and the ring blade now angled around him from his head to his toe. Mario's knight sword was above him and Todd needed to take this chance now so he kicked him with his left foot and Mario took it easily with the shield. Todd brought the ring back down and Mario backed up with Shunpo.

"Pretty ironic huh?" He was already out of breath, but Mario too was heaving a little.

In between breaths, he responded, "Whatcha going on about, pip?"

"If it weren't for our practice, that might have killed me." Todd began to smile a little, first just a flash of a curve, but it quickly turned into a toothy smile that held back a big laugh. He was feeling pretty good the more he thought about the irony.

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. I guess we're even. If you didn't resist, I wouldn't have this pleasure."

"So no holding back…" he said it with grimmace. He was going to lose and knew it. The smile faded.

"You got it, pip," and with that he charged at him again, only much faster. First a few steps, then Shunpo and Todd caught his movement just as Mario was about to stab him through his chest. He raised his ring blade to block again, but his blade hit nothing. It was just an after-image and Todd couldn't see anyone, but a sound from behind alerted him and he spun his whole body and blade around to meet the straight blade of Mario's. Sparks flew as the blades clashed and grinded. The tip of Mario's blade bit at Todd's arm, leaving a red slice that began dribbling down his elbow.

It actually tickled a little. Not in a way that he wanted to laugh, but he wanted to wipe it away because it was sending shivers down his spine. The warm liquid broke his concentration and when Mario swung down hard, Todd quickly reverted his focus to the battle and blocked it.

Even though all he could do was defend at the moment, he wasn't so sure he would lose to him. Maybe the fight, he still wasn't sure he could beat Mario, but he was confident he might live beyond this fight. Even if just barely. Something in Mario's performance hinted a glaring weakness, if only Todd could pinpoint it. Something about his heavy swings and attack-run-attack pattern gave Todd a little hope.

Only fifteen minutes ago the Captains had reconvened with the Captain-Commander once again. The stand-in captains stood in behind. The 3rd seat from Aizen's squad took Hinamori's place. The meeting was a quick one with him issuing orders to the Captains. "We have received orders from the Central 46. It is a grave set at that. The shinigami from Earth is to be brought in and held until his execution for high crimes against Soul Society." There was no explanation from the Central 46 about the content of these crimes. The Central 46 had been quickly replaced after Aizen had killed them off. The King had used Nobles and Diplomats of his court to do so.

"Might I suggest…" It was Katashi who stood beside Captain Yamato, "That you add issue a temporary War-time release and even Kill-On-Sight orders. We would not want him evading capture."

"No." The Captain was adamant about this, but Katashi continued.

"Sir, if I might interject," though his words were that of a humble diplomat, his tone had an edge to it that unnerved the lieutenants. The Captains didn't show it, but they too felt the tension in the air. "The King has taken a special _interest_ in this case and if need be, I will get a royal decree for these orders, but I suggest it will be easier to do it _now_, instead of having to bother him with such trivial matters."

"When I receive the Royal Decree from his Highness, I will act accordingly, but until then, we will take him into custody. If he resists, the officers of our squads can act as they see best, but we will not needlessly end a life at your command. Do not forget your place here as an advisor." Katashi stared him down until he realized the man would not move on this. He turned to the audience and regained composure. "Dismissed." The Captains left slowly, but Katashi drew his blade from its sheath and slowly sliced the air in front of him, which opened a rift in Soul Society, and he stepped through it. It closed directly behind him and the Captain-Commander let out a heavy sigh afterwards. "What have we gotten into…"

Without offense he knew he couldn't win, so he was mentally reviewing his time with Kikokorokokou. Not just how Todd had fought the genie, but how the genie had fought him. What had he done? What he had he seen? How had Todd bested the genie? It was all hard to remember as it felt so long ago the more he thought about it. It also didn't feel too real. It _was_ a dream to him after all. But his body didn't care about that. His mind might be casting it off as a dream and his mind might be forgetting, but with every swing of Mario's sword, it came back slowly and the movements began feeling right.

Mario swung at him with a sweeping motion. It wasn't his usual hit, and it came slowly and awkwardly, and Todd took this chance to swing his own blade. The swing was more of a charge forward as he spun the blade around, switching hand holds. The two blades met at a 60 degree angle and Todd kept pushing forward. His years with football made his calves and thighs strong enough to push him _through_ the blockers and Mario held his strike but was beginning to back up as Todd pushed.

The ring blade kept pushing through Mario's slash and finally he had to jump back to safety. Todd's smile came back slowly, and he charged forward some more with another diagonal slash, but this time Mario blocked it with his shield. He hadn't used it yet, and when he did, he expertly guided Todd to the side, leaving Todd open to a downward slash from Dai Hiroki. It stung as it tore through Todd's chest. It was a very shallow contact, but nonetheless, it hurt like hell. Mario's look of anger had dulled into one of competitive satisfaction. Todd took the time to look at the wound and panicked. Mario backed up, but Todd went after him, and Mario couldn't guide this attack away and had to block it. Todd's blood was draining out of him and he couldn't keep his mind off of it, even as he attacked. Mario tried backing up some more, but Todd kept at him, and he didn't have time.

That was the weakness he saw earlier. He couldn't name it. Mario was good for one, maybe two shots before he had to run away and rest his muscles. A single swing could rip through the flesh and bone of Todd's entire chest if given the chance, but afterwards, he was drained for a few seconds while he rested. The strategy he had adopted to balance this out involved using the shield to guide away any attacks _after_ Mario's initial attack, which then allows Mario the chance to retaliate at near full strength. It wasn't a _weak_ness, exactly, but it was something to be exploited. Todd saw it. He saw the opening, and he had to charge through. He knew what to expect now, and if he didn't charge through it soon, he would bleed out.

First Mario blocked with the sword, because Todd angled his attacks so that Mario could only guide the attacks towards his own chest, and thus he had to block with the sword, but it wasn't enough. Todd let him back up this time, then charged forward with a overhand slash, but Todd blocked it. A quick Shunpo from the 3rd seat and he was back resting some, but Todd could _see_ him now. Mario had been slowing down the more he used Shunpo, and now they were sluggish. Todd charged forward, but Mario had already recuperated _enough_ that he launched his own attack and the two blades met with sparks again. The clang of metal echoing through the woods. When Mario backed up again, Todd was right there with him. They were no longer flash steps, but just quick jumps, and Todd could keep up. Todd lept into the air and towards Mario, with his ring blade, nearly vertical, ready to blast through any defense Mario could muster.

It hit Mario's shield this time though, and it wasn't aimed properly and Todd could feel it being guided to the side. It paused at the midpoint, not moving for a second, just quivering on the center of the shield. Todd forced his body weight into the attack, but he didn't think it was enough.

No, he knew it wasn't. He knew this was the end. It hung on him, that this fight would be over in the next swing. Even if it wasn't a full contact, Todd couldn't handle another wound. The shock of the first one already was wearing off and it burned and itched and this was the end. Todd knew it.

Or thought he did. Suddenly the air was filled with a _crack_ and Mario's fierce look had broken too. Surprise. That was the new expression.


	13. Chapter 12: Saviors: Remedy or Preventio

Chapter 12: Saviors: Remedy or Prevention

Surprise, that was the new look as his shield split along the vertical stripe of his cross. The ring blade pressed on through the shield deep into Mario's chest. Gravity took effect and the blade dug downward too. Blood splattered both fighters and Todd landed as the victor. The last attack had cut Mario's wrist, chest from the shoulder down to the ribs, and he was losing blood quickly. _That_ was his weakness. Mario had only his strength and a shield and once both were bested, he was left with nothing. Both were formidable, but he had met the wrong Zanpaktou for his style.

Reality set in as he saw his opponent dying before him. He had never seen someone die before and it scared the hell out of him. He couldn't even tell himself it was in self-defense yet. On its own, Kikorokokou returned to its sealed staed as Todd tried to press the shinigami robes onto the wound and stop it, but it was too deep. Mario would die if someone else didn't come.

Running into the woods, shouting, Todd didn't even think about giving himself away, and as luck would have it, he ran into his old friend, Iwambo, who was unaware of Todd's criminal status as were all people under Lieutenant. Only Mario, Lieutenants and Captains were aware of the execution order.

"Look, I don't have time to explain, just come with me, Mario, he's hurt, he's dying, I need you to heal him." Iwambo ran with him without extracting any details. When they got to Mario, he was passed out and in bad shape. He had lost a lot of blood and Iwambo remained focused on the task at hand. First he expertly wrapped up the wounds, even the one on the wrist, then he spent a full thirty minutes with his hands over Mario. Todd had to face the _new_ reality. Todd was a criminal and staying around like this could be disastrous for his life. If Mario woke up and was ready for another round, Todd wasn't sure he could fight again.

During the fight, he had felt pretty lively, but now that his Zanpaktou was sealed again, the drain of reiatsu was apparent. He couldn't help but feel tired. Iwambo lifted his hand from Mario's chest. Mario didn't rise up or even open his eyes. "I have done what I can." Iwambo didn't look grave though and maybe, just maybe, Todd thought, Mario wouldn't die. "Perhaps I should look at you as well." Todd had forgotten his own wounds. Blood caked on his chest and arm, he was a sad sight, but at least it had stopped. His reiatsu had already kept him out of the danger zone, which was the real reason he was so low on energy.

"Perhaps you should hear what happened first." Todd explained the butterfly, which Iwambo then explained to him was a Hell Butterfly and used as a messenger, then Todd described the fight between the two in as little detail as possible and Iwambo only nodded.

"That does not effect my duty to heal you. We are under the covenant of friendship and I will stand-by that before my duty to these orders of which I know nothing of. I am a member of the 4th squad and will do what I can to prevent the death of my fellow shinigami." His eyes were far enough off that Todd could see how hard this was for him.

"Okay, but can we get out of here first. I think we should get him some help too."

"They will find him soon enough. Your battle has no doubt alerted many of your presence and he has friends of his own. But yes, let us leave this place first." To Todd's surprise, they ran _towards_ the Sereitei but once there, Iwambo found a false tile in the floor and removed it. They hid under ground as Iwambo healed him. Todd slept deeply and couldn't help but relive the nightmare. When he awoke, Iwambo had food for him. "Eat, eat," which Todd obeyed. It wasn't anything delicious, but it _tasted_ that way, given how hungry Todd was. His last meal had been interrupted.

"Where are we exactly?" And Iwambo explained the tunnel system as used and cleaned by the 4th squad. When Todd finished eating, he started what he thought might be a touchy subject. "Iwambo, you're a pretty big guy, and from what I can see, pretty strong. And you're shikai isn't something for healing purposes from what I understand, so why are you in a squad that does so little fighting?"

"I have been blessed with a strong body, but I was never cursed with a thirst for blood." He paused for a long time but Todd said nothing. Iwambo held his big lips open for a few seconds then continued in a whisper, "Maybe one day I will be ready to fight, but for now, I do not believe that I can save lives with superior force. Not yet."


	14. Chapter 13: You’ll Do

Chapter 13: You'll Do

All the members of the Gotei 13 had received orders with a basic description of the criminal. Mira had testified to having seen his shikai and given a description of that as well. The Captains stood at their headquarters while they sent out patrols of five men. Each patrol searched the nearby area, but when they saw no one for an hour, a second patrol was sent out, and the first patrol continued searching as well. After four patrols were out concurrently, the fifth patrol that left replaced the first patrol, and in this way, the patrols rotated so that there were constantly 20 men from each squad searching. These were the foot soldiers of each patrol too. The seated members were on their own to search for the intruder. The Captains and Lieutenants stayed at base though so there were 23 members of each squad, leading to a massive search party of 297. One was subtracted for the 3rd seat of Aizen's squad keeping watch on _his_ squad and another for Mario..

Todd evaded the search party by remaining underground while he recovered until he said, "I need to clear my name." Iwambo nodded, but said nothing. They were both sitting, Iwambo's legs were crossed while Todd had one knee up and the other leg resting under the other knee. "Can you lead me to the 1st squad's headquarter from here? If I can talk to Commander Yamato, maybe he'll call it off. I…I know he'll listen."

"He is a man of duty. He will not disobey the orders given to him by the Central 46." Todd couldn't meet Iwambo's eyes.

"Take me there then." Iwambo breathed in deeply.

"I'm afraid that is not possible. Not from here. To do so, we must exit well before their Office." Todd started tapping his foot impatiently.

"Fine. Can you….Can you take me there?"

"I can take you as close as the headquarter of the 5th Division. They are without both a captain and lieutenant and we will have the best chance of evading patrols there." Todd nodded and they continued down the sewer system. Iwambo led them through it until they reached a ladder, when he started climbing, Todd held grabbed the black robe.

"No, I'll go first. This is my problem and I should take all the risks." Todd insisted and Iwambo listened. When he pushed the panel off, he peaked out and saw no one near. They were behind a large ornate building. He hopped out and waited for Iwambo who quickly came after.

"We are behind the headquarters. I am afraid we still have a ways to go though."

"Thank you Iwambo." The two held each other's eyes until Todd heard some swords jingling in the distance. They both turned and they saw a group of 5 from the 5th squad running at them, their swords already being drawn.

"It's him!"

"Get him!"

"Kill the Ryoka!"

"Come on guys!"

"Yeah!"

They all shouted out similar phrases and it all blended together. When Todd reached for his Zanpaktou, Iwambo stayed his hand by grabbing Todd's wrist. "Let us not do anything rash. Instead, we run." He then proceeded to pull Todd along the other side, but as they reached the corner, the swords behind them weren't the only ones drawn.

"Sorry bud, but I guess we have to do something," and immediately Todd's hand held the scabbard at his waist, while his other prepared to draw the sword. They didn't bother introducing themselves and Todd didn't care. He charged towards the first group who all had their swords in the air, ready to swing down, but they were slower than Mario, a lot slower, and with a single horizontal slash, he disarmed them all. They had small wounds on their knuckles, but at least none had died. Iwambo chased after Todd and they both ran past the stunned foot soldiers. But the second group kept coming and the first group picked up their swords and were ready to try again. Todd didn't bother facing them now that they had a way out. They chased him all around the area and occasionally he turned to Iwambo to see which way they should go. He hadn't forgotten his mission.

Iwambo was too slow occasionally on deciding and Todd wasn't ready to lose ground. They had lost sight of the patrols and he wanted to keep it that way, but they kept seeing new patrols and Todd would either blow by them or knock them off balance. He only inflicted small wounds on these guys until he reached a dead end.

"Shit," Todd said as he heard the foot steps nearing. "How strong is this wall?" He asked Iwambo, but it was too late, they had closed in. All 21 of them in a single mass with small cuts on their arms, hands, and feet. Some of them were limping or bent over and out of breath, but from behind stepped a man that at first Todd couldn't see his face. He was pretty short himself and apparently so was this guy. The patrols parted for him and some were snickering at the new twist. He even heard some people say, "Yeah, get him boss, you got this."

He spoke before being in sight, "You have intruded our sector and have disgraced our squad. You will be hauled back to the jail house where you will await execution. Under High Decree of—"

"Like I'm going to let you _haul_ me in so I can sit and die. You'll have to knock me out first." Todd's sword was out and Iwambo was backing into the corner. The man stepped into view. He had short, messy dark green hair and a headband. He was as short as expected, but wide. Stout for sure, he looked like a bulldog on a leash.

In a low voice, Iwambo spoke. "This is the third seat of the 5th squad. He is a proud warrior and will not hesitate to execute the orders given to him by his Captain-Commander. Currently he is acting Captain of the squad…" Todd looked back to see Iwambo gulp.

"Meet my gaze, Kikorokokou!" It came instantly, unlike before, and the explosion shocked the patrolmen, but the 3rd seat held his ground in front of them. He didn't even have his sword out. His large green eyes never blinked as they stared each other down. Todd made the first move, launching his ring blade at his opponent. It scraped against the walls and the men behind the 3rd seat officer ran from it, but he side stepped it. In this narrow alley, he dodged the large ring with fluid movements, but the ring blade, as Todd hoped it would, rounded itself back towards Todd and he bent over and stood up in the middle catching the handles easily.

With his hand on the blade's hilt, he spoke "Irvin Balsk of the 5th squad. 3rd Seat officer and Acting Captain and Stand-in Lieutenant." By the time he finished, his blade was drawn.

With a sly smile, Todd said, "Todd Mackinac of Pella, Iowa. Wanted Criminal." Irvin lowered his head and readied himself to attack and defend. He bent low like he was a sprinter coming off blocks, with the sword in his left hand pointing behind Irvin. "Are you going to release it?"

"I promised myself I would not need to for this."


End file.
